Thursday, 6 August 2015

Leasing is powering ahead in the funding marketplace. In 2013 43% of SMEs used leasing as a method of funding new plant and machinery, office equipment and cars, this increased to 51% in 2014.
The survey of 3,000 SMEs from Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden found that SMEs financed 19% of their total investment via leasing in 2013, more than any individual form of bank lending. This figure showed the popularity of leasing among SMEs, as the leasing penetration rate for businesses of all sizes stood at 12% in 2013. SMEs focused on exporting and growth were found to rely on leasing to a greater extent than other firms. Exporting firms financed 20% of their investment via leasing, as opposed to 18% for non-exporters. Similar results were recorded for growth firms, with almost a quarter (24%) of their investment financed through leasing, significantly more than the 18% of non-growth SMEs.

For further details contact:

Peter Kelly: 07778 670 236 peter.kelly@pegasusfunding.co.uk. London, South East, and South West

Richard Olsen: 0797 664 2432 richard.olsen@pegasusfunding.co.uk . East Anglia, East and West Midlands and the North

Monday, 27 July 2015

All professions have cash flow issues, just like the majority of companies.
They have difficulty paying their VAT, Their Corporation Tax and Income Tax, as well as their professional indemnity insurance and Practice Certificates. They also might need finance to pay for working capital and IT systems and software.

There is now a funder that will give loans to the professions of between £10,000 and £1,000,000, depending on loan requirement. VAT loans are over 3 months and professional indemnity insurance loans are over 12 months or less.

The professions covered include, Solicitors, Accountants, Architects, Barristers, Doctors, Vets, Surveyors, Dentists, Opticians, Pharmacists, Osteopaths and Chiropractors. If they belong to their main professional body such as the Law Society, RIBA, Medical Council etc, then they can apply.

Monday, 22 June 2015

There have always been two types of funding requirements that have historically been very difficult, if not impossible to find solutions for.
The first was how do you raise finance against the value of signed contracts for products or services that are paid in monthly installments, such as maintenance agreements, security agreements, subscription agreements, and most importantly Software as a service licence agreements. There is now a new type of finance that solves this problem.
The companies that are applying for this type of funding must have a turnover of at least £300,000 and been trading for at least two years. They must have been trading with their client for at least 1 year OR they have sold the same type of service to different clients for at least 2 years. The downside is that their customer must have a turnover of at least £15m if based in the UK or £50m if based abroad. This type of finance will fund up front 80% of the client’s next 12 months worth of regular payments.
The second type of funding is stage payments or applications for payment in the construction industry. There are no limits on debtor concentration and foreign debt is also acceptable.

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Fredericks Foundation is a charity that provides loans to people who want to set up a new business or maintain or expand an existing business as a route to financial independence. While we are open to anyone who has a viable business proposition but cannot obtain mainstream finance, we focus particularly on the disadvantaged.
We provide a range of business support and microloan funding for start-ups and small businesses. In doing so, we enable people who cannot access finance through the usual channels to realise their potential for the benefit of themselves, their families and the Country.

This is an opportunity for the corporate business sector to help support our programme by becoming a Fredericks Foundation sponsor. Through sponsorship you will:

• Have a visible association with a high profile, professionally run programme.
• Help disadvantaged people start their own business and monitor their progress.
• Make a positive impact on your organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.

We are delighted to announce the Fredericks Business Awards Dinner
This is a prestigious event to be held on the evening of Tuesday 6th October. The venue is The Garden Room set in the beautiful Tiltyard Gardens at Hampton Court Palace. The event acknowledges the achievements of the companies that Fredericks Foundation has funded. There will be a drinks reception followed by a superb 3-course dinner, the awards ceremony and a charity auction, with many fabulous prizes to be auctioned.

Monday, 23 March 2015

This is the second in a series of articles about innovative new sources of alternative funding. Look out for the next one in a couple of weeks time.

I have just started to work with a funder that is offering overdraft type loans of up to £10,000 for periods of 1 to 10 weeks. As you pay these off you can take out another loan and so on and so forth. The loan is available for sole traders, Limited Companies and Partnerships. 4500 companies have taken out 12,000 loans so far.
This does not replace your normal overdraft, if you are lucky enough to have one, it is just a top up for when you need a bit extra and the bank will not help. People use this type of loan when they need additional seasonal stock, or to pay the VAT or corporation tax, or when large clients are paying late and causing cash flow problems.

Repayments are paid weekly and are taken from your debit card.

They use a 5 star rating, 1 star is the most expensive and 5 star is the least expensive. Depending on your credit risk you will be rated from 1 to 5 but the important thing is that as you work with this funder and pay back on time you can progress up the star ratings.

If you borrow £1000 and pay it back over 10 weeks you will pay back £1144 which equals 14.4% which is expensive, but if you are a 5 star client the same £1000 over 10 weeks you would pay back £1027 or just 2.7%. Naturally you only pay when you have borrowed money. You may borrow for just 2 weeks, pay it back and not need to borrow again for a month or 2. Flexible money on tap.

You pay a one off set up fee of between £150 and £350 and you can then borrow if and when you need it.

60 % of all applicants get approved and another 15% are just asked for more information.

The application form is a simple A4 sheet.
Minimum application criteria:

Minimum 12 months Trading
You and your company must be searchable on line
You must have a current home address
No CCJs for 12 months.

If this is of interest to you or your clients please give me a call on 01932 244810 or email me at peter.kelly@pegasusfunding.co.uk or richard.olsen@pegasusfunding.co.uk

Monday, 2 February 2015

Personal Guarantees are the bane of most business owners’ lives and something that they continually ‘moan’ about. Invariably any form of borrowing above say £5-10,000 from a bank or other financial entity will require further security in the form of a personal guarantee from the business owners and directors. This is on top of any security that they may also take over the assets of your company.

As has been seen over the recent past, it doesn’t take a lot for an excellent business to be hit by unforeseen factors that may result in adverse trading and the lender may demand repayment of its money. You may well be faced with a call on the guarantee that you have given. At that point your personal assets are at risk.
Personal Guarantee Insurance is there to meet that claim up to the amount for which you are insured.

Personal Guarantee Insurance

Provides insurance for individuals (usually Directors) who have given a Personal Guarantee (PG) to a lender in respect of the borrowings of their limited company in the event that when called in the company is unable to repay the whole of the borrowings and the PG is called upon.
This type of insurance is the first of its kind to provide protection and advice at the same time. The policy can be purchased at any time either for an existing guarantee or as finance is taken out.

How it works?

The guarantor is protected in the event of the company failing to pay back it’s lender in full. Cover starts at 50% for each guarantor of the amount of the guarantee in year 1, and the percentage increases annually up to 90% in year 5 and subsequent years.

Remember you do not have to cover the full amount of the personal Guarantee that you have signed. You can decide to take some risk yourself and only cover the remaining amount that you feel comfortable with.

Why do I need Personal Guarantee Insurance cover?

You don’t, it is a matter of personal risk, but Personal Guarantee Insurance provides financial security and protection from the unforeseen. If you've ever given Personal Guarantees for loans, then that guarantee could one day be called upon leading to significant costs to you.

This sort of insurance also comes in very useful when directors have different levels of shares in the company and personal wealth.

What does PGI cover?

Should your Personal Guarantee be called upon by the Lender, the Insurance will be in place to pay out the indemnified amount which may clear your liability to your Lender in full.
How much can I cover?
LENGTH OF TIME % COVERED
First 3 months 0%
Next 9 months 50%
Year 2 60%
Year 3 70%
Year 4 80%
Year 5 onwards 90%

Multiple Guarantors

PGI is personal to you but other guarantors can take the cover as illustrated. If there are two guarantors and each takes out PGI then the effective cover will be 90% of the total guarantee in the second year

How much does it cost?

The premium is based on 3% per annum of the level of the cover required. There is also a £200 set up fee and insurance premium tax of 6% of the premium.

“By clicking this link it will take you to the quote and buy website of PGI Cover a trading style of Ratae PGI Ltd an appointed representative of Professional Insurance Agents Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. They will be able to help and quote you on various insurance products – we do not offer advice or services in this area of Insurance."